Blog Archives

Rolling with a Theme

7/31/2018

©Annette Bartlett-Golden, H.G. Wells & The Wheels of Chance.
Mixed media, 18 x 24 inches. $500

Rolling with a Theme
By Annette Bartlett-Golden

Looking out of my studio window, I'm likely to see members from our local herd of deer or my neighbor zipping by on his bicycle. So perhaps it was just a matter of time before bicycles made their way into my art. Hearing from a friend about a cycling themed exhibit motivated me to incorporate bicycle images in a couple collages this month and I rolled with it from there! My latest collages, H. G. Wells & The Wheels of Chance and The Grand Tour of France, are infused with a bicyclingtheme. Wheels of various sizes and bicycles are uniting elements in both collages. I also used some of the same papers and vibrant color combinations in both. While these pieces have a different feeling from my past collages, I’m very pleased with how they turned out.

The first one called H. G. Wells & The Wheels of Chance was inspired by one of HG Wells early novels, a humorous story titled The Wheels of Chance, a Bicycling Idyll. As I worked on this collage, I listened to the story, following one Mr. Hoopdriver on a cycling holiday through the English countryside where he meets and befriends a pretty girl in grey who is also on a cycling trip. The roads, open fields of the country, flowers and butterflies mentioned in the book have made their leisurely way into the collage along with bicycles and wheels.

For the second collage I took inspiration from July's biggest cycling event, the Tour de France, which along with Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España, comprise the Grand Tours. Looking at a video clip of the route for the Tour de France I was struck by the zigzagging lines of the race and the prevalence of mountainous terrain. Those motifs, along with wheels and bicycles, are evident in this busy collage called The Grand Tour of France. Listening frequently to Kraftwerk's epic song Tour de France added to the bicycling race ambiance.

©Annette Bartlett-Golden, H.G. Wells & The Wheels of Chance.
Mixed media, 18 x 24 inches. $500

I had a great time making these collages which stretched my artistic process. Unlike previous pieces where I used mat board for the support, I worked directly on birch panels attached to a supporting frame (much like a stretched canvas) which are larger than most of my other collages. These collages are also much more intricate in composition and more detailed. Working with specific bicycle related themes added another layer of meaning to the artwork which was quite satisfying.

When I make my collages, I use an intuitive process which means that at the beginning I have no idea what the finished work will look like. In this case I knew that there would likely be bicycles somewhere in the pieces but that was all. The rest evolved as I worked. After I thought I had finished H. G. Wells & The Wheels of Chance I got the idea to use a large wheel shape. At that point I went back and transformed a big, plain yellow disk in the collage into a wheel design and then reworked the area around it. For The Grand Tour of France I began with the large orange wheel and the composition expanded from there. Because of my process, there is an element of surprise when I stand back and contemplate the finished results. For these two collages that was a particularly exciting moment!

0 Comments

From the Garden: Ironweed

7/31/2018

0 Comments

Avery standing next to a tall specimen of ironweed, Vernonia gigantea, a buzz with bees and butterflies.

Ironweed
By guest author Avery Bartlett-Golden

A few years ago, a plant by the front door that had been left in a pot to be planted later, got impatient and grew through the bottom of its container. The next year it was an eight-foot plant with giant lacy flowers towering above us. That plant turned out to be Eupatorium fistulosum or Joe Pye weed, number 26 on the list of plants that I received from a class on herbaceous perennials taught by Dr. Dennis Werner at North Carolina State University.

This year a new plant appeared in the side flower garden. Towering above everything around it except for the apple trees, this plant seemingly came out of nowhere. I don’t remember planting it or seeing it before, but when I checked the class list of plants I received, there it was at number 63, Vernonia gigantea or Giant Iron weed.

This spectacular plant grows 8-10 feet tall crowned by purple magenta flowers that attract all kinds of pollinators. Later in the fall, the flowers will turn to fuzzy seed heads attracting birds and creating wonderful winter interest. As member of the Aster family this giant shares the family characteristics of blooming late in summer and displays similarly shaped flowers.

Close up of the giant ironweed flowers with one of the numerous butterflies attracted to the plant.

Iron weed is a native to the entire east coast and was first collected in Maryland by English botanist William Vernon in 1698. Later the Genus Vernonia was named in his honor encompassing twenty other native ironweed varieties and hundreds more on other continents.

Since it flowers later, giant ironweed is an excellent option for pollinator gardens to provide nectar for bees and butterflies at a time when few other plants are blooming. The ironweed plant lives up to its name surviving to the end of the season without issue. Certainly the plant is not picky about soil or water, handling moderate drought and torrential rain wonderfully. Also, it tastes unpleasant to deer which explains how it has survived despite the daily visits of the neighborhood herd. So, if you’re looking for a plant that will give stature and awe to a garden from summer to the beginning of spring, Vernonia gigantea will stand to the call.

~Avery Bartlett-Golden is a Horticulture Science major at North Carolina State University.

0 Comments

Rolling with a Theme

Rolling with a ThemeBy Annette Bartlett-Golden

From the Garden: Ironweed

Sign Up for my News Letter

Archives

Categories

Rolling with a Theme
By Annette Bartlett-Golden